To cut or not to cut?

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Do I cut this anemone?

  • Leave it alone and let it do it's thing

    Votes: 5 35.7%
  • Cut it in half

    Votes: 3 21.4%
  • Cut it into 4 peices

    Votes: 6 42.9%
  • Other suggestions

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    14
  • Poll closed .

Ziggy953

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Messages
9,149
Location
Mount Laurel, NJ
Ok after much debate amongst some of my reefer buddies it has been impressed upon me that my RBTA is too big and taking too long to split naturally. I've been advised to cut it up. I need some input from you guys to help me decide.


What do you think?

Here it is as of this week

1012479mediumcg1.jpg
 
I would be terrified to cut into it but that thing is getting quite massive. How hard is it to do? Do you know any local reefers that have done it that would be willing to do the dirty work for you?
 
Well, do you think it is too big? Is it interfering with coral health or limiting space for fish to maneuver around? I disagree with the length of time vs. splitting. There are no rules in reproductive behavior, but if you want to split it then by all means. Personally I like it the way it is if corals can be shuffled around it.
 
It has been stinging nearby corals but I have moved most of them away. I have no problem leaving it alone but from what I have learned splitting it isn't that difficult and the anemone will recover quickly.

Just looking for more input.
 
You are right in that splitting them isn't difficult as long as a clean cut is made with minimal lacerations. The biggest problem I see some make is that they lacerate and tear the tissue because of a dulled blade and creates a lovely anemone mush. Other than that having the cut anemones flushed and kept in good water flow with carbon (preferably in a quarantine tank if sloughing is excessive) :)
 
I'm not 100% convinced I will do it yet. The anemone I have came from a local reefer that was cut from his brood stock. I've just never done it before and I don't want to kill my $90 anemone. It would be nice to cut it and have one to sell but that isn't what I'm looking for. The same guy I got mine from has videos on youtube of him cutting an anemone into 4 equal parts and all 4 did just fine. I just don't know....
 
I can't really decide either. If you do cut it though i would go 4 peices. I mean your already cutting so you might as well get it small again and have 3 to sell
 
Kind of what I was thinking as well. Also gives me spares in case one of them doesn't make it. From what i have learned they recover quickly and do well with being cut. I've been talking to a local guy (the one my RBTA came from) and he says do it. When they get as large as mine is it is a perfect opportunity to reduce their size and spread the wealth.

I'll video it when I do it and post to youtube and provide a link.
 
I saw Calfo cut one in half at a fragging demo. The two halves were ready to go back in a tank in about a ½ hour. It was rather amzing watching the two halves recover that quickly. As I recall he used a sharp scissor to cut through it. Any SHARP blade should do the trick.
Just do it outside the tank in a large bowl of tank water, and have another container for each of the sections you divide it into.
Oh, and take your own video to post on YouTube.

Good luck.
 
I bought mine from a cut, and it is doing fine in my tank. The guy who cut it said it is fairly easy to cut as long as your waters are in good condition. If this is your first time cutting an anemone, I would suggest cutting in half instead of trying to cut it in 4.
 
So I picked up this little guy on an impulse buy. Not sure if I am going to keep it or not. After talking to (and making fun of) Ziggy about being afraid of cutting that RBTA he has, I decided it was a good idea to test out the whole idea with this little nem. Took a large sharp pair of scissors, lined up one blade on the mouth and the other on the foot. with one single motion chopped it in half. Put the two pieces in a little tank of water and let it alone for a couple of hours in the dark. The two new pieces seem to have reinflated nicely and are upright in their new homes. The reason for the beakers is to keep them out of the current for a while. The frag tank has a lot of current and they would just get blown around too much.

No more excuses Ziggy!

img_949402_0_7dbe24f948f8d7ecf07862ebfac9f2fe.jpg





After:


 
Hmm...

I must have forgotten to mention that I will have to destroy my reef to get to the foot of the anemone. Right now the RBTA is of little concern.
 
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